IT and marketing collaborate to sweeten websites for digital natives

Clint Boulton |
March 23, 2016

Ferrara Candy, which aims to double in revenues by 2020, is revamping its websites and social media strategy for the 30-and-under crowd.

Ferrara Candy, purveyor of such iconic candy brands as Black Forest gummy bears, Jujyfruits and Lemonheads, has something of a Reese’s peanut butter cup factor going for it. In a business collaboration rivaling that iconic chocolate-and-peanut-butter combination, its IT and marketing team are revamping the company’s websites to make its brands more appealing to the millennial generation.

Recognizing that it needed to seize control of its crucial digital assets, the Chicago confectioner is bringing its website management back in house, says CIO Kristina Paschall. Ferrara relaunched Ferrara's Black Forest website and plans to redesign a dozen brands and boost their presence on social media over the course of the year. “We need to interact with our consumers through the channels that they interact in,” Paschall told CIO.com.

Typically, such arrangements are tough at companies where leadership, traditions and business processes have become entrenched. But despite's its longevity -- the company was founded in 1908 -- Ferrara has the advantage of being what Paschall describes as a "$1 billion startup," and isn't afflicted by the same creative tensions. In 2012, the company merged with Farley and Sathers and subsequently added fresh talent, including Paschall, to rebuild the company for the digital age.

The candy market has come a long way since the days of relying on trips to the candy store and impulse buys in supermarkets. With more than 50 percent of its product portfolio resonating best with a demographic aged 30 and under, Ferrara has created new Facebook and Instagram accounts to lure digitally native millennials who prefer to interact with brands through social media.

For the last several months, Paschall has met regularly with Chief Commercial Officer Jamie Mattikow, Jill Manchester, senior vice president of marketing and brand strategy, and Shanna Kranz, social media and marketing manager, as they planned to redesign and assume control of its websites, which have been hosted and run by marketing agencies for years. Most of the websites had grown outdated – some were barely more than landing pages -- and Ferrara decided it needed to own the environment, reducing costs and enabling the company to make quicker updates and reduce costs. “We’re very forward thinking but to be honest our platforms did not represent that,” Kranz told CIO.com.